Repetition

I’ve reached a point where I seldom attempt new personal bests, because of fear of failure. Failure is not an option as long as I don’t have a safe way of failing reps. I need some way of aborting a rep. I’ve look at power racks, but I don’t think I can have one in my bedroom. For now, I’m considering to build something myself – a pair of duty legs in wood.

Today’s workout:

• Squat: 75 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 60 kg × 2 reps + 3 reps + 2 reps
• Deadlift: 90 kg × 7 reps × 1 set

It’s my third time at 75 kg in squats, if I remember correctly. It’s very heavy, but I think I could have done more today. More reps at least. In bench press, 60 kg felt too much, and I didn’t want to put myself in the same predicament as last time, so I stopped at 2 or 3 reps per set. Finally, in the deadlift, I was happy to do an extra 2 reps.

Pain and near death

The pack pain I felt last time had not completely receded before today’s workout, and got worse during my squats. And after a failed rep in bench press where I almost crushed my face, I decided to skip the deadlift.

• Squat: 75 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 60 kg × 5 reps × 2 sets + 4 reps × 1 set

With 75 kg, I touched my personal best in squats. It felt heavier than ever, although the second and third sets was easier than the first. I’m proud that I endured and finished the sets.

After 4 barely successful attempts at 57.5 kg, it was time to try 60 kg in bench. And I almost succeeded – just 1 rep short of 3 full sets. In the final rep, I managed to steer the barbell down on the lower hooks, where it crash landed. I don’t want to think about what would have happened if I had missed the hooks. I need to buy a powerrack now.

After this incident, I decided to skip the deadlift. I think many things coincided today. I was simply too tired, and on top of that, I’ve had an emotional dip which has drained and distracted me thoughout the whole week. I just couldn’t muster any self-confidence with the weights. I hope I can train again on Monday, and that I’ll feel more rested and aggressive then.

Catching up

It’s a constant struggle to be regular with my training. I lost some weight (2-3 kg) and I guess some of my passion for lifting lately. Last time I trained, I had an easy workout, and that was almost 2 weeks ago. If I can’t do my 2-3 workouts per week (which is my goal), there’s no way I can increase the weights anymore.

Anyway, today I finally got back to lifting:

• Squat: 72.5 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 57.5 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Deadlift: 87.5 kg × 6 reps × 1 set

I’m slightly worried about the back pain I get from training. Today I felt it after the squats already, and it got worse when deadlifting. I hope it won’t get worse. Either way, I’m not going to let it stop me.

Triceps extension: 17.5 kg

I had some fun with the EZ bar before bedtime tonight.

• Triceps extension: 17.5 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Biceps curl (EZ): 30 kg × 5 reps × 2 sets

Both of these were personal bests, if counting the total number of reps at the given weight. I’m puzzled about the enormous difference in triceps and biceps strength. From what I have heard, they should be roughly equal. My triceps may be the muscle group with the most room for improvement.

Anyway, 17.5 felt like a good weight for today. I tried 20 kg too, afterwards, but could only do 3 reps. I should probably raise to 20 next time anyway, because I need to get to heavier weights ASAP.

An easy workout

It was over a week since my last full workout. I didn’t feel in the mood tonight either, after having slept only 6 hours and walked 5 km from work, but decided to have a workout with somewhat easier weights. This is what happened

• Squat: 70 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 55 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Deadlift: 85 kg × 7 reps × 1 set
• Triceps extensions: 15 kg × 5 reps × 3 set

I feel both ways about lowering the weights like this, but it’s better than doing nothing. Also, I had some back pain even before starting, from what I believe is a herniated disc that I feel sometimes. I felt the pain while doing the deadlifts. Hope it won’t get any worse.

As expected, I had no difficiulty completing the sets. I added triceps extensions at the end too. 15 kg was too easy, but it’s a start. I’ll raise it to 17.5 next time. If I do it a couple of times a week, it should help me with the bench press.

A new scale

I have bought a new scale, a Tanita RD-953. If I can trust it my weight was above 90 kg last Sunday night, after a big meal. It doesn’t count, because I weigh myself in the mornings, but still – I’m very close to 90 kg now. I have gained 8 kg since this summer. And a person at work said that I looked slim…

According to my new scale, my body fat percentage is around 16-18% now, just where I want it to be. That’s a extremely good improvement from the 25+ measurement in August – if it were true, which it almost certainly isn’t. I don’t trust that measurement at all. It may be useful to see if the body fat is up or down, but the number itself could probably be up to 10 percent off in my case.

I’ve gained some muscle of course, but I also sure I’ve gained plenty of fat. I got more fat around my waist now than ever before. I don’t want it to get any worse.

Therefore, I have started to walk 4-5 km after work every day. I have done so for the last 3 days now and aim to keep at it for 2 weeks and see if it makes any difference. I have almost no experience in trying to loose weight. I want to feel that I’m in control over my weight – that I can gain as well as loose weight as needed.

Press: 35 kg

I had another quick upper-body workout tonight:

• Seated press: 35 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• EZ curls: 25 kg × 5 + 27.5 kg × 5 + 30 kg × 3

I started assuming that I had used 35 kg in the press before, but the records say this was the first time. And it was surprisingly easy – I could even add a rep on the last set. I’m ready for 37,5 next time.

I’m aware that EZ bars aren’t ideal for biceps curls (because the more supinated hands, the more biceps involvement), but this is a leisure exercise to me, and I don’t mind if I happen to involve a few other muscles as well. I think I’ll be ready for 3 sets of 5 at 30 kg soon.